Boxcar unloader



Aug. 26, 1947. H. G. oNs'TAD BoxcAR UNLOADER Filed June 7, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Aug. 26, 1947. +r. G. oNsTAD I 'BoXcAR UNLOADER lFiled June'?, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 QN Qa MN NNNK IMM. MN. M

Patented Aug. 26, 1947 L ED. STAT E S PAT EN T O F F i 2,426,562

BoXoAR UNLoADEn Henry G. Onstad, Chicago, Ill;` Application June 7, 1945, Serial No. 598,037

1 Claim.

, invention relates to unloading apparatus, sndalthoush ithes. been designed primarily for unloading srainfrorn boX. oars. it is also adaptable, wtlrdllsntrarlations in. detail, for unloading oerrlent o oaL sodaaehor other free flowing granular materiale, andpcan also be used for o-ther purposessuon as moving free flowing materials from storage. piles ,and other handling` equipmentl and niqvingvmaterialsin the holds of vessels to marine unloading equipment,-

"Ona of the objects of thisinvention is to pro- Vide a simple, practical and efficient unloading apparatus embodying a dirigible self-propelled unloader having a conveyor arranged to convey the material towards a discharge opening in a railway` carmor other conveyance, andvalso functioniriato, propel the unloader.

Another object is the provision of steering meansi controlled from the outside ofV the railway oanwherelov the uploader cante guided to travel any directionlnother Objectis the provision of an unloader having anY endless conveyor, provided with rubber orother flexible flight or blades arranged to engage the, surface upon which the unloader is moved, and to engagethe material and convey it. towards e. discharge opening.

With these and other objects and advantages inpview, this invention consists in the several novel featuresof construction, arrangement and combination of partshereinafter fully described and more particularly defined in the appended Claim.

The invention is clearly illustrated in the drawings acconip anjfing4 this specification, in which:

' Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic View partly in plan and partly inhorizontal section illustrating one embodiment ofn the unloading apparatus in use unloadingarrailway car and showing the unloader indottedlines and in dot-dash lines in two positions;

Fig. 2 is a vertical cross section taken on the line 2".-2 ofpFig. 1;

` Figi.: 3 is anenlarged, central, vertical, longitudinal section through the unloader; Y

Fig 4 is a vertical cross section taken on the 3;.3116! Fg.v5 is avwiring diagram illustrating the circuits for the motors.

Referring to said drawings, which are merely illustrative of one embodiment of the invention, the., unloading apparatus comprises, an unloader lpg, steering cables l I, l2' attached to the unloader andtrained aroundportelole.snatch blocks lr. Isa 'carried by the frame work of a railway car I4 and disposed adjacent the door openings l5, |6 thereof. The door opening |6 is shown as closed by a temporary wall il and the door opening I5 isshown Yopen for the discharge of the material.

At the unloading station, a platform [-8 is provided, which has a clear space upon which the unloader may be driven. Connecting the platform with the side of the railway car is a movable platform i9 over which the unloader may travel from theplatform to the interior of the railway car. rIfhe platform and floor of therailway car are substantially on the same level. The auxiliary platform llll may be laid on the main platform and the railway car'floor, or it may be supported in anyy suitable manner.

Extending through the platform and projecting above the same is a post 26, here shown in the form of `an I'beam, and on this post are secured horizontal structuralmembers, such as channel members 2-|gfor supporting a platform 22, upon which are mounted two Winches 23, 2d. Thecables I I, I-2 are wound uponV the drums of the Winches and are trained around other sheaves 25, 25a carried by the platform at places adjacent the top thereof, from which the cables run to the snatch blocks and thence to the unloader. Mountedl on the post adjacent the channel members 2l is a bracket 21 upon which is rotatably mounted a spring return reel 28, around which is wound an electrical control cable 29 which runs tothe unloader, and is connected to a source of electrical energyy in any approved manner.

The unloader is best seen in Figs. 3 and 4 and comprises, among other things, a housing composed ofV upright side walls 3| connected to an inverted Vo-shaped top wall 32, as by angle irons 33. Upon the top wall of the unloader are secured two eyes 6I, 62 to which the steering cables are attached. Bolted or otherwise secured to angle irons 34-fastened to the inner faces of the side walls are planks 35, 36 which extend across the housing adjacent its lower end and support the motor 31 and its speed reducing gearing 38. The motor is connected to the speed reducing gearing by a shaft coupling 39. It may be here stated that the motor 3l is a reversible motor whereby the unloader may be propelled forwards or backwards. The power cable 29, heretofore referred to, leads -to and is connected to the motor 21. In the housing is a traveling endless conveyor which propels the unloader and conveys the material to one end thereof.

`Anpinner housing composed of a top wall 4:0 of inverted V-shape, a bottom wall 40a, and two end walls Il! encloses the motor and speed-reducing gearing. The walls of the inner housing may extend to and be secured to the side walls 3| of the outer housing by angle irons or otherwise as is desired. The inner housing protects the motor and speed reducing gearing from the material which is being unloaded.

Upon the drive shaft of the speed reducing gearing is a sprocket wheel 42 which is connected to a sprocket wheel 43 by a sprocket chain 44. The sprocket wheel 43 is mounted upon a shaft 45 journaled in bearing boxes 46 carried by the side walls of the outer housing, and mounted upon said shaft 45 are two sprocket wheels 41 disposed adjacent the side walls of the outer housing, and trained around said sprocket wheels 41 are sprocket chains 48. The sprocket wheels 41 form the driving means for the sprocket chains 48. A hood 64 extending up from the top wall 40 of the inner housing encloses the sprocket wheel 43 and the part of the sprocket chain 44 which runs above the top wall 40.

Adjacent the bottom of the outer housing are two idler sprocket wheels 49, 50 around which the sprocket chains 48 are trained. The axes of these sprocket wheels 49, 59 are horizontally aligned and said sprocket wheels may he mounted upon shafts in the same manner as the sprocket wheels 41 are mounted.

Secured to and carried by the sprocket chains 48 are conveyor flights 5I which extend crosswise of the outer housing and are made of such vwidth that when traveling between the sprocket wheels 49, 50 they bear upon the surface upon which the unloader is supported with suicient pressure to obtain traction for propelling the unloader.

While the exact construction of the flights is immaterial to this invention, broadly considered, they are here shown as formed of transversely extending slats or bars 52 secured to links of the endless sprocket chains 48, and angle plates 52a secured to the slats or bars with rubber or other flexible iiight blades 53 secured between the angle plates '52a by rivets or the like. Lengthwise eX- tending guide bars 54, 54a are secured to the angle irons 34, 55 above and below the slats or bars 52 and serve to guide the slats or bars during their movement between the sprocket wheels 49, 50. Other guide bars 52h paralleling the oblique portions of the conveyor may be provided if desired.

Caster wheels 56 mounted in brackets 56a secured to the ends of the outer housing comprise the direct support for the unloader. The caster wheels are vertically adjustable as by threaded stems 58 and nuts 58a thereon and carried by angle irons 60 which are secured to the ends of the outer housing. The caster wheels enable the housing to be moved forwards or backwards or to be turned.

The vertical adjustment means for the caster wheels is provided to compensate for wear n the edges of the flights and to control the pressure of the flights on the surface on which they operate, which pressure, together with the operation of the conveyor, makes the unloader self-propelling, and with the reversible movement of the motor it can trave1 forwards or backwards at the will of the operator.

A remote control panel 6|, provided with suitable push buttons or Switches, is connected by an electric cable to the power cable whereby the attendant may control the operation of the unloader.

Preferably the winches 23, 24 are operated by reversible motor 23a, 24a and if desired reversible control switches for the motors of the Winches may be included in the remote control panel for starting, stopping and reversing the operation of the motors of the Winches.

In Fig. 5 is illustrated a wiring diagram for the motors. As shown, the power lines 66, 61 from the source of electricity connect with the power cable 29 through a pole changer or reversing switch 68 and through lines 69, 10 to two stationary contact rings 1I, 12 contiguous with the drum of the reel 28, which contact rings contact with contact pieces 13, 13a insulated from the drum of the reel and forming the terminals of the two lines of the power cable 29. Lines 14, 15 run from the main lines 66, 61 through a reversing switch 16 to the motor 23a of the winch 23 and lines 11, 18 run from the main lines through a reversing switch 19 to the motor 24a of the winch 24.

In the operation of the unloading apparatus, one of the side doors of the car is opened and the temporary wall behind the door opening is removed, permitting some of the contents of the car to discharge by gravity through the door opening. At this time the unloader stands on the platform I8. The switch controlling the motor of the unloader is then closed, thereby starting the motor and driving the unloader in a direction towards the door opening of the car. Traction is obtained by the engagement of the flights with the platform. The steering cable I2 may be trained around the snatch block |3a and attached to the eye 62 on the unloader and the winch 24 started, whereby to pull the front end of the unloader toward the door opening. Or a guide rail 10 may be provided on the platform for guiding the unloader through the door opening of the railway car. The caster wheels will then be caused to trave] along the guide rail. When the unloader has entered the car, the steering cables II, I2 are passed around the snatch blocks I3, |311 and fastened to the eye 6I on the unloader, and the auxiliary platform is removed.

As the lilights of the unloader engage the material in the car they propel the material backwards towards the door opening. It is possible for the unloader to climb upon the material in the car, but in doing so it also propels the material backwards to an end of the unloader. By properly manipulating the Winches 23, 24, the pull upon the unloader may be exerted to restrain its traveling movement and to turn it in almost every direction. In this manner the unloader may be caused to move to all parts of one end of the railway car. Some of the material is moved to the door opening by pulling the unloader back by one or the other of the cables I I, I2. When one end of the car has been cleared of the material, the unloader is drawn back by the Winches and steering cables, or the direction of rotation of the motor is reversed so as to cause the endless conveyor to propel the unloader toward the other end of the car. The snatch blocks I3, I3a are then transferred to hooks or eyes I3b located at the other side of the door openings and the steering cables are then attached to the other eye 62 and the procedure above described is repeated. When all of the material has been unloaded, the auxiliary platform is replaced and the unloader may then be driven back on the platform.

When used to unloadgrain or other free flowing material from railway cars having a trap door in the floor for discharging the materials, the same procedure is carried on, except that the unloader is steered toward and away from the discharge opening in the floor whereby to discharge the material therethrough.

Having thus described my invention, it is obvious that various modications may be made in the same without departing from the spirit of my invention; hence I do not Wish to be understood as limiting myself to the exact form, arrangement and combination of parts herein shown and described or uses mentioned.

What I claim as new and desire to secured by Letters Patent is:

In an unloading apparatus, an unloader comprising a housing, caster wheels supporting said housing, an endless conveyor in said housing having flights arranged to bear upon the surface on which the unloader is driven, said conveyor functioning to propel the unloader and to convey materials to an end thereof, a motor mounted in said housing, drive connections between said mo- 6 tor and conveyor, snatch blocks attached to the opposite side walls of a vehicle in which the unloader is being used, steering cables attached to the unloader and trained over said snatch blocks, and Winches for the cables for controlling the speed of the unloader and for restraining the traveling movement thereof HENRY G. ONSTAD.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date 1,272,655 Gawlet July 16, 1918 1,346,681 Pratt July 13, 1920 1,548,497 Weeks Aug. 4, 1925 1,788,554 Venable Jan. 13, 1931 

